Tuesday, February 9, 2010

My father-in-law coined the term (at least as far as I know), “The Paul Pond Family Traveling Circus.”Well, he thought that his time of traveling with 8 kids was a big deal, but I think he may even agree that we are surpassing him quickly!I am about to head to Texas with the kids (not to worry, I have my nanny Ashley coming along- do you think I am completely crazy?!) in 1 ½ weeks.As I formulate a plan of who sits where on the plane and our crazy packing list, which will include a crib tent and packing tape, I am reminiscing of past adventures (that is a nice way of saying crazy trips).Now, these “adventures” seem to all center around the actual getting there part- the rest of the trips were, on the most part, great.Here are some highlights~

We should have seen the “sign” when two travel-related incidences brought us together.The first was when I was home from Texas A&M for the weekend when, while stopped at a stop sign, a car hit me.It was not a bad accident, but the area around the tire was bent just enough so that I could not drive.Well, my mom called Josh’s house (our mom’s were friends) and managed to have Josh bring me back to A&M (much to my dismay- he was weird).Well, that was that and we started dating.Just a little over a month later an even bigger travel crazy thing happened.I was going with his family to Colorado on a ski trip (yes, things moved quickly in our relationship- don’t judge) when on the plane I had a seizure and they had to emergency land the plane.I had never had a seizure- so this was a first- just the thing to do when you are on a trip with your new boyfriend’s family (a tad embarrassing).Needless to say, I survived and we were married a year later.

The next major incident was on our way home from adopting Madeline.We were new parents who thought a 2-1 ratio for travel would be just fine.Well, to make a long story short, Madeline was up and active (to put it nicely) for 26 hours.That’s right folks- 26 HOURS.Insane is all I can really say.

Another fun time was when we were traveling back from Texas with Madeline and she looked at Josh and said, “I don’t feel good” which was immediately followed by a continual time of throwing up.To make matters worse, while in Texas for Christmas our Wisconsin driveway was neglected, so it was covered in ice.When that is the case, I now know, it is generally not a good idea to carry your sick 3 year old up the concrete stoop to get in the front door.I slipped and photo below was the result.

Don’t dismay, we are not finished yet.On the way home from Ethiopia all was well, that is, until the last 3 hours (of a 30 hour trip).Again, Madeline got sick.So sick that there was a point when all of the seats on our row (which did not only include us) were covered in plastic trash bags or newspapers and Madeline was sitting in only her underwear and holding a bag.Just to let you know, Madeline is the loudest vomiter on the face of the earth, so the entire plane knew that something was going on.I am sure they thought it was an exorcism and were pleasantly surprised when they saw that it was just a naked Russian.

Okay, so this is the last one I will share today.Since I am doing the whole, when you brought home your kids theme, I should probably tell you about Sadie’s adventure home.Since we like to spice things up, we decided (oh, wait God and the Dr. decided) that Sadie should be born in the middle of one of the worst snowstorms Portland has seen.Not just one single day of snow, it was over a week of on and off snow in a town that has zero idea of how to handle it.I believe it was called, “The Arctic Blast!”So, when it was time to come home from the hospital everyone was in a tizzy to get checked out before the next wave hit.It just started snowing again when we were leaving, so we did miss some drama.It turns out though that when you just birthed a baby it is not the funnest thing in the world to ride in a car with chains on the tires going over heaps of ice and pot holes for 45 minutes.Especially when it should only be a 15-minute drive.To make matters worse though we were finally turning onto our street and got stuck because another car was stuck.I believe there were tears.

So, there we are, travel and Pond’s apparently don’t mix.Shoot!I really hope that my friend Karen, who is going with us to Texas next week, doesn’t read this!

About Me

I am a sometimes (well more than that) sarcastic mom of three, wife of Josh & an office manager. I am an identical twin, I got married at 20, I love to organize & be organized (you probably couldn't tell right now), I love to read & watch movies. Here is a rundown of the fam-
Josh-my husband for over 10 years, is a fantastic husband & dad. He runs his own criminal law firm. He loves movies & has a blog of his own www.kinoclub.blogspot.com
Madeline (a.k.a. The Russian)-is 10 years old & in third grade. We adopted Madeline from Russia when she was 3. She is quite an expressive personality with a ton of energy. She has & will give me a lot of material.
Timothy (a.k.a. The Ethiopian)-is 6 years old & also has a ton of energy. He is as cute as it gets! We adopted Timothy from Ethiopia when he was 11 months old. He is severely developmentally delayed with his biggest delays in communication.
Sadie (a.k.a. The Red-head)-Our little surprise who is now 2. Sadie is as sweet and as sassy as they come! She already is showing her love for adventure and all things girly. Sadie is continually making us all smile.